The Los Angeles Clippers acquired Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets before the start of the 2011-12 lockout season and became instant title contenders. The team had a lethal Big Three of Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Unfortunately, the Lob City Clippers never got past the second round of the playoffs during the Paul-Griffin-Jordan era. Paul and Griffin had some issues behind the scenes and head coach Doc Rivers and CP3 began not seeing eye-to-eye as well.
For this piece, we'll be taking a look at the three superstars the Clippers failed to pair with Chris Paul during his six-year run in Los Angeles.
3. Kevin Garnett
In 2013, the Clippers contacted the Boston Celtics to discuss a potential KG trade. The deal would have sent Garnett to the Clippers and Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler to the Celtics. Rivers was trying to get Garnett in L.A. since the two won a championship together in Boston in 2008.
The Clippers and Celtics, though, were never able to reach an agreement.
Boston traded Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2013, while L.A. dealt Bledsoe to the Phoenix Suns in the same offseason.
2. Carmelo Anthony
The Clippers and New York Knicks discussed a trade centered around Griffin and Carmelo Anthony in 2014. One of the reasons Paul and Rivers started butting heads is due to Rivers' reluctance to trade his son, Austin Rivers, to the Knicks for Anthony.
New York ended up trading Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the summer of 2017. The Clippers, meanwhile, sent Griffin to the Detroit Pistons at the February trade deadline in 2018.
1. Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant met with the Clippers in the summer of 2016 and was very close to joining the team. The team would have been devastating offensively with Paul, Durant, Griffin and Jordan leading the charge.
Unfortunately for the Clippers and the rest of the NBA, Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors. KD and the Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
Follow Us
Subscribe